Arrival

When you arrive, announce yourself and make yourself comfortable until you are collected.

Greet your interviewer(s) with a smile, a strong (but not vice-like) handshake and be polite

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The Interview

Once the interview begins, try to find a comfortable position to place your hands and try to relax. Don’t fiddle with pens etc. – make sure the interviewer knows you are concentrating on them. During the interview, maintain good eye contact with each person as you respond to them

Most interviews follow a fairly similar pathway. The interviewer(s) introduce themselves, and then tell you a bit about the business and the role. Then they ask you questions about yourself – this should ideally be a two-way dialogue rather than a simple question and answer, but every interview is different. Finally the interviewer will usually give you the opportunity to ask any questions that weren’t already answered in the course of the interview.

An interview is a two-way sale. You are trying to sell your skills, experience and your personality so it’s important to listen to what the interviewer is looking for. But don’t forget, it’s also your opportunity to find out more about the company and the role. So when the time is appropriate, ask questions and show an interest in the company. If you did your research you’ll know enough about them to be able to discuss a few aspects of the business.

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We can’t tell you how your specific interview will work, but there are some questions which are fairly common, so before your interview it’s a good idea to think about answers to them in case you are asked.

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Why do you want to work for us?

Why do you want this role?

What do you know about our company?

Why did you choose your profession?

What are your strengths / weaknesses?

What do you like / dislike about your current role?

Why are you looking for a new position?

What has been your greatest achievement to date?

How would you describe yourself?

How would your friends and colleagues describe you?

What are your future aspirations?

What can you offer to your new team / company

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It’s important to focus on positives when responding to questions. Don’t run your current / previous employer down. Take your time answering – consider what you say before you reply. If you don’t understand a question, ask them to explain, don’t just guess at an answer. If you still can’t answer, don’t be afraid to say you aren’t sure – but maybe tell them how you’d go about finding out.

Make sure that your answers are relevant. Don’t go into long stories involving people and situations the interviewers won’t know. But also don’t sit there simply saying yes and no. You’ll need to qualify your answers.

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Prepare your own questions in advance. Your research may have raised couple of questions. Aim for questions that indicate an interest in the company, its products / services and the role. This is not the time to be asking about holiday entitlement or pensions etc. – you haven’t been offered the job yet so that can wait. There may also have been questions that came to you during the interview.

Example questions you may want to ask might include:

What are the company’s future plans?

What is the likely career development pathway over the next few years?

What possible training might I expect to receive in the role?

How would you describe the culture of this company?

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Feedback.

At the end of the interview, you might like to ask the interviewers how they felt the interview went. If you are interested in the position, it’s important at this stage to tell them!

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Finally, you’ll want to know what happens next. So it’s worth asking what the follow up procedure is, and when you might expect to hear from them. Then thank them for their time.

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Our next blog will introduce the STAR technique which helps you prepare for competency based questions, in which interviewers ask you about specific scenarios.